Purgatory

by Nicole Visconti

What would you do if the world plunged itself headfirst into a zombie apocalypse? Would you survive? Or would you wither away like everyone else did?

I have no idea how, but I survived and let me tell you, it SUCKS! Being stuck on an endless road of disappointment, misery and loneliness can only be summed up in one word- Purgatory.

Well, that is until I meet them. Hawk, Cole and Jax. Two Marines and a Corpsman who, against all odds, survive to take me in and show me the way to paradise.

Purgatory, book 1 of the Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse series, is a "why choose" romantic literary work of fiction intended for adult readers (18+). Sensitive content and triggers contained within.

Triggers PTSD, Loss/ death, anxiety, mentions of suicide, kidnapping, sexual assault, and various kinks/ fetishes.

Kinks/ BDSM, degradation, praise, edging, breath play, choking

While our editors do their best to find any and all errors, if you do read this novel and come to find any mistakes, please feel free to message me here and let me know. Thank you and I hope you enjoy :)

Genres: Why Choose, Post Apocalyptic, Zombies, Romance, Dystopia, Harem, Science Fiction

410 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2023

About the author

Hi there! Nikki here. Mother of three, wife to a husband that is too sexy for his own good, and a self-published indie author that likes to let my insanely kinky mind let loose and have fun. Apart from reading and writing romance, I also like to cook, rock climb and, during the warmer months, spend as many of my days as I can out in the sun.

Reviews

[Lyrik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not great either. I liked the story and did find it be original in how it unfolded and the specifics of characters and setting. The writing was a bit amateur and there was a lot of internal commentary, jokes, and references that I found to be irritating after reading them for 400 pages. The survival elements went to the wayside after the romantic relationships started to develop. I would have liked it to continue as that's part of what I love about PA romance. I'm interested enough in these characters to continue the series.

[Kathy Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

You find what you least expect.

I gave this a 5 stars because I freaking love Aly. Oh my I laughed so much with her. I'm sad they lost their place and boy the smutt was Hot. And I really like Jax and really felt for him and what he had to go through. I loved that Cole was such a Dom. And Hawk what a sweetheart. Now this is book 1 it says but there isn't any announcement of another one. I really hope that this isn't the end of them. Now she said their would be another series with Aly and her guys and some new characters and I'm happy about that. I just hooe that it has alot of Aly and her guys and they aren't swept to be side characters in the background. I hooe this series comes out quickly or atleast book 2. I really loved this book tho. I think you will too. It did have inconsistencies a couple is all so it's not a big deal. But I loved story the characters and the dog. I loved it. So bring on more Aly and her guys. I need more of them.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't look for zombies

Listen, i love me a zombie apocalypse book, but this isn't that. They're kinda mentioned, but mainly, it's just a group of thugs. I am 8000% okay with that. Negan is awesome, The Governor is a dick, and Alpha is the best damn villain ever.

Honestly, other than the lack of zombies I liked it. There were a lot of funnies, but the writing seemed a little choppy at times. If you're looking for a good read without a lot of angst or drama, def go for this. It's not bad, just not zombies 🤷🏻‍♀️ thanks for coming to my TEDtalk, I'm not sorry I bought it.

[Augusta Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

so spicy!

Ok so the description of this book doesn’t do this baby justice! It was recommended on my kindle app and I read the description and wasn’t thoroughly impressed but decided to give it a try anyway! Glad I did! This book was finger licking good spicy!!! More spice than plot in my opinion but I didn’t see any plot holes and it ended not on a cliffhanger! Just read it already!

[Haley R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH. MY. GAWD. What I had in my mind going into this book and what I have after is 🤯. Let’s just be real who doesn’t love THREE MMCs. The internal monologues and narratives these characters have with themselves through this book honestly make it the best. It was funny, entertaining, pulled at your heart strings and everything more. Plus, that one scene tho 😉. It is now living rent free in my head. Loved this book and so excited to read the rest of the series.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whychoose apocalypse

This is a whychoose set during an apocalypse.
This is was full of humor (you would probably need that to survive alone with no human interaction) and endless movie/show references and quirky sayings. Along with A LOT of internal cometary.

The story itself his good and I loved that Cole, Hawk, Jax and Alessandra all had their own individual personalities. They also were handling the apocalypse and life in different ways. I had higher hopes for this but it was a little to slow for me and there is some errors in the book. It is a standalone (The ending does make it seem like there could be more coming for this world) and is told in MPOV.

[bookedbysmut Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story. I liked the characters and the overall plot.
I do enjoy the other people suspense/fear as a fan of mainstream zombie villains.
This book does need editing.
I didn’t see an email for the author so I sent a FB message to send some errors over.

All in all, it’s a good debut book and I’d probably read this author again.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 DNF

So I got through over 50% and got bored. I think my problem was I read Sanctuary before this and the same expectations with it being zombies and fighting and excitement. But it was the fmc (who was funny in the beginning) but it was more about the relationships between these people who find each other after the zombie apocalypse. And at first it was funny and entertaining it was insta love (which I didn't mind because it was the zombie apocalypse) but the angst and after she sleeps with 2 out of the 3 guys she's self conscious about her body all of a sudden insert🙄 because of course she 5'4 thin and curvy. Like said I just got bored.

[Siska Van deurs]

Well I started reading it. But I had to dnf it.. 23% inn.. I just don't get her.. how the f did she survive? How, after having had to flee her short term home and finally finding a maybe new shortterm home does her thoughts go to marshmallows and not having had sex in a while.. with corpses around, no water left, no food and no clue what could be lurking ahead?

Then waking up after a heatstroke in a new place to a strange man, uuhh he is so hot??!! How is that your first reaction? Not what does he want .. you could just tell he was a good guy.. feel all the way down deep inside

Nope this just wasn't for me..

[Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives:
- fun characters. I really liked specially the mmcs, they’d have very different personalities from each other!
- interesting plot
- good spice

Negatives:
- too long and wordy for me. It would be better with more editing.
- it felt so frustrating that the fmc was a little annoying at times. Not to say stupid, because things could be easily avoided if she used her brain.
- basically zero zombies

[Alyssa Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay. This book. OMG

I received this as an author spotlight book on TikTok, and I’M SO GLAD I DID!

The character dynamic had me completely absorbed. I wish there would have been more zombie interaction, but honestly, this book is still a 5-star read for me. I read it over a week ago and I still can’t stop thinking about it! Obsessed!!!!

Hawk and Jax are mine. Just saying. Cole is up for grabs… maybe 🤓

SPRINTING TO BOOK 2!!!!!!

[Carley Michaelis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I DNF’d this book around 80%. The characters had no depth, the FMC somehow seemed to survive by blind luck alone, and there is genuinely no plot at all or romance. It’s just smut. Which isn’t always bad, but this just wasn’t a good book and I don’t really understand the positive reviews. Somehow there were essentially no zombie interactions in a “zombie” apocalypse book.
The only bonus was that the humor was enjoyable at some points.

[Fujmunster · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF at 59%. World building is kinda meh, it’s post apocalyptic but doesn’t feel like it after the first few chapters. FMC had a funny, quirky inner (sometimes outer) monologue that I enjoyed. Insta-lust and conflict shows up pretty quickly. I felt no connection with the characters or their situation. Writing wasn’t bad but KU had some editing errors. The storyline just didn’t pull me in. Would rather reread the Sanctuary series (SM Olivier) or any Harley Tate PA book.

[Shayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, first off I’m obsessed with zombie apocalypse! I love the suspense! I also, am obsessed with reverse harem! I’ve read a couple of reverse harem zombie apocalypse books, and I can’t get enough! So when this series showed up in kindle recommendations I was so here for it! The plot is good, I do wish there was more zombie action, but knowing the series is not complete I’m hopeful to see more of that. The spice is great! For this being the first book, I was worried there would be no spice until closer to the end. Which is fine, I just prefer more fast burn reads. There are errors, but I don’t feel like it deters from reading.

[Aya Blackwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. I thought it was funny. I have 2 issues with it. 1. It has some editing issues but not enough to take me out of the story and 2. The biggest thing is its a zombie apocalypse and there are hardly any zombies. There's a brief mention towards the begining and then another one near the end but no real direct action with them. I like the characters and how they work with each other and how they very much have their own personalities.

[alexxx · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m tired of military romances that use the Middle East as a punchline. Between the "lighthearted" mockery of food names and the constant, surface-level talk of "defending the country" without any actual political context, Purgatory feels dated and culturally insensitive. The MMCs are your standard military dudes, but the author’s lack of awareness regarding the regions they are writing about is a major red flag for me.

[Amanda Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am most definitely a mood reader and I was stuck between some other genres and then this beauty found me on tiktok. I really enjoyed the zombie apocalypse/dystopian vibes and the found family the characters have. It was refreshing to see the characters struggle and grow throughout the story and be able to handle any problems that came their way. I really enjoyed this one! Kudos to the author!

[Taylor Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Moly Batman

I’m not even sure where to start, and in general I like to think I am quite eloquent. I LOVE this book. I love the writing, the characters, the plot- all of it. I love me a good zombie apocalypse book, and this one didn’t disappoint. I’m recommending this to all of my book friends, and I can’t wait for the next one.

[Kayleigh Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING DEBUT!!! I had no clue until the author’s note at the end this was a debut novel. I loved each character and most of the pov voices felt unique throughout. Some might say the story was slow but I actually like when I get to view the characters getting closer over time. Spicy scenes were top tier as well.

[B. Mardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This was a good apocalyptic story. The building of Aly and the guys relationship, seeing how they survived and lived during the end of days but that ending omg! And all that steamy had me fanning myself.

[alisa davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Start

I love zombie apocalypse. The zombies played a smaller role however your characters took control. I look forward to the next installment. I will recommend to my book club readers.

[Tamera Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gravy!!!

This was definitely an unexpected surprise. I went in not knowing what to expect and I had a blast reading. Hawk was absolutely fantastic and adorable, we all need a Hawk in our lives. So looking forward to seeing where their story goes in the future.

[Jordan Dublin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly a dnf 🥲 Got to chapter 30 and just was very bored…had high hopes for this book but it doesn’t grip me like I thought it would :/

Characters are all quite repetitive and the plot is nonexistent even half way through.

[Melo]

I struggled... DNF

The number of times I tried with this story .... I just couldn't get into it.

We barely get know Alexandra then we are bombarded with smut. Just no.

Is it too much to ask for a plot???

I can't recommend this one.

[Mary Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything

This book has everything. Tension, drama, action, spicy moments, heartbreak, and best of all zombies. This ended on a bit of a cliffhanger but am happy to see the next book is already out.

[Jessica Gorgen · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

This was a good book. I’m pretty sad over that place though, it sounded pretty cool. But they’re right, as long as they’re together, home is where the heart is.

[TAM]

DNF

[holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler free review! Plot is 10/10 spice is 10/10 characters and character development 10/10! I have been recommending this series to literally all of my bookish friends!

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

No… dnf at 2%! The writing style and choosing of words is just crap imo.
Some may like that sort of stuff though!

[Boo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf

This was a DNF for me at 22 percent. I love zombies books and I love it even more when it’s RH. I don’t know why but this book just didn’t click for me.